This invention is in the field of information and communications, and is more specifically directed to improved electronic devices, and apparatus for information and communication processing, information products, and processes of manufacture. Without limitation, the background is further described in connection with wireless and wireline communications.
Wireless communications of many types have gained increasing popularity in recent years. The mobile wireless telephone or cellular telephone has become ubiquitous around the world. Mobile telephony communicates video, audio and digital data, in addition to voice. The market for portable devices such as cell phones and content players is expanding with many more features and applications. Wireless data communications in wireless local area networks (WLAN) and short-range wireless data communication are also proliferating.
Security is important in both wireline and wireless communications for improved security of retail and other business commercial transactions in electronic commerce and wherever personal and/or commercial privacy is desirable. Added features and security add further processing tasks to the communications system where cost and power dissipation are already important concerns.
Ensuring the confidentiality of code and digital rights managed media content is important. In some cases, it is desired that software also be usable only on a particular device such as one single handset or product unit. In other words, if the software were transferred to another handset, the software should fail to operate on that other handset. Furthermore, the software code should be protected from compromise while it is being programmed into the electronic device on the factory floor.
It is desirable to improve information products such as software and/or content for secure distribution on media or over the Internet and other networks.
Keeping the cost of manufacture low, increasing the efficiency of obtaining software and media content performances, and maintaining high performance and low power dissipation are important goals in electronic devices and processes of manufacture.
It would be highly desirable to solve any or all of the above problems, as well as other problems by improvements to be described hereinbelow.